A missing teenager in Palmdale took his own life, authorities said. Now questions are being raised about bullying.

Deputies said Nigel Hardy, 13, was upset about a fight at Hillview Middle School when he disappeared Monday. His father found a suicide note in his room. The father's gun also was missing.

Kern County sheriff's spokesman Ray Pruitt said a boy, later confirmed as Hardy, shot himself at Crazy Otto's restaurant in Rosamond about 20 miles north of his home.

Authorities said Hardy, who was a cheerleader, might have been a victim of bullying. Deputies aren't saying whether that's what led him to commit suicide, but it is a topic the superintendent takes very seriously.